By Jillian Schenfeld
6:12am PDT, Sep 10, 2019
Jennifer Lopez is a fierce triple threat and entrepreneur with an incredibly successful career spanning film, television, music and dance. The Bronx-born superstar has come a long way from her first high-profile job as a Fly Girl on "In Living Color." In celebration of J.Lo's newest flick, "Hustlers," which comes out on Sept. 13, Wonderwall.com is ranking her films, worst to best. Read on to see what you should — and maybe shouldn't — watch!
RELATED: Stars turning 50 in 2019
No. 16: "Gigli"
To put it simply, "Gigli" was a major flop for Jennifer Lopez. She memorably co-starred with Ben Affleck and fell for him during filming. In the movie, she plays an assassin who oversees Ben's character's kidnapping mission. Critic Roger Ebert said it all: "So the movie doesn't work. The ending especially doesn't work, and what's worse, it doesn't work for a long time, because it fails to work for minute after minute, and includes dialogue which is almost entirely unnecessary." Yikes!
RELATED: J.Lo and more stars in swimsuits in 2019
No. 15: "Jersey Girl"
At the height of Bennifer in 2004, another disappointing Jennifer Lopez–Ben Affleck film hit theaters: "Jersey Girl." The film follows Ben's character, whose life falls apart when his wife (portrayed by J.Lo) dies during childbirth. It's a sort-of-sweet, lazy-Sunday movie you might want to watch on TV, but don't go out of your way. You'll also find that Liv Tyler — who jumps in as Ben's new love interest — gets way more screen time than J.Lo.
RELATED: The most famous band the year you were born
No. 14: "Money Train "
Early in her career, Jennifer Lopez appeared in "Money Train" alongside Wesley Snipes. The 1995 movie features a notable sex scene that she reportedly did reluctantly. She portrays Grace Santiago, who joins a pair of subway cop brothers who attempt a robbery. Mike Clark of USA Today said, "It's stupid, but also breezier than the year's other 12-score releases not worth a second look." It seems "Money Train" laid some groundwork for J.Lo to graduate into other film genres that were more to her liking.
No. 13: "U Turn"
Oliver Stone's "U Turn" is a 1997 crime thriller featuring an all-star cast that includes Jennifer Lopez, Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton and Joaquin Phoenix. The movie was lackluster in comparison to its stacked ensemble, whose characters join forces in telling the story of a gambler whose car breaks down near a mining town filled with thieves and killers. J.Lo plays a married woman who has an affair with Sean's character. Still, Variety critic Todd McCarthy liked it, writing, "The stylistic fun Stone has in dramatizing this crime of passion thoroughly revitalizes the well-worked genre."
No. 12: "Parker"
Jennifer Lopez came together with Jason Statham for the 2013 crime thriller "Parker." She portrays Leslie Rogers, a divorcee who lives with her mom (played by Patti LuPone) and is in a personal and professional rut. She then partners with Parker (played by Jason) to serve up revenge against the super-rich. The film garnered a 41 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer and was dubbed "thoroughly generic."
No. 11: "Monster-in-Law"
Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda go head-to-head in "Monster-in-Law," a tepid yet amusing rom-com about the escalating tensions between a mother-in-law and her son's fiancée. The film takes the proverbial "mama's boy" notion and fits it inside the parameters of a largely predictable movie. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the film, "It's a crude, obvious comedy, which occasionally clunks, but it's often very funny, as well as being a really shrewd bit of popular entertainment."
No. 10: "Shall We Dance"
"Shall We Dance" stars Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere in a conventional but heart-warming rom-com about a dance teacher who helps a middle-aged man get his groove back. The reimagining of Masayuki Suo's 1995 film earned a 46 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer and comes with this critics consensus: "The cast is warmly appealing, but with the loss of cultural context and addition of big-name celebrities, this American version loses the nuances of the original."
No. 9: "Enough"
"Enough" features Jennifer Lopez in one of her most fearless roles: She plays a woman named Slim who prepares tirelessly to escape from her abusive husband. J.Lo reportedly trained in the Israeli self-defense program Krav Maga to get buff for the film. Although she put in the time and effort, the movie received mostly negative reviews from film critics, with many focusing on her perceived exploitation of spousal abuse — as if she wrote the film herself.
No. 8: "An Unfinished Life"
The 2005 adaptation of Mark Spragg's novel, "An Unfinished Life," stars Jennifer Lopez as a widowed single mother who escapes an abusive relationship with a man played by Damian Lewis (yep, it sounds a bit like the narrative of "Enough") by fleeing to the ranch of her estranged father-in-law, played by Robert Redford. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and Paul Clinton at CNN wrote, "[The film] manages to be both moving and poignant largely because of the superb acting, cinematography and direction."
No. 7: "Maid in Manhattan"
Although 2002's "Maid In Manhattan" boasts a similar storyline to "Pretty Woman," it is still one of Jennifer Lopez' best rom-coms of all time. The film centers around a housekeeper named Marisa who is essentially "saved" by a wealthy politician (played by Ralph Fiennes). Richard Roeper at Ebert & Roeper wrote, "It's a charming romantic fantasy."
No. 6: "Blood and Wine"
Another of Jennifer Lopez's earlier overlooked films, 1996′ "Blood and Wine," is a thriller co-starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine. In it, she portrays Jack's character's Cuban mistress accomplice. The film garnered a 61 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer.
No. 5: "The Cell"
In 2000, Jennifer Lopez starred in "The Cell," a Tarsem Singh-directed dark thriller in which she played a child therapist who embarks on a journey to uncover a missing girl seized by a killer who drowns his female victims in a glass-encased chamber. The film was given four stars by Roger Ebert — although he noted it was controversial. He wrote, "I know people who hate it, finding it pretentious or unrestrained; I think it's one of the best films of the year."
No. 4: "The Wedding Planner"
"The Wedding Planner" is a superb Jennifer Lopez rom-com. Jennifer stars as Mary, a bridal coordinator who ends up falling in love with her client's fiance, portrayed by Matthew McConaughey. It's certainly no Oscar winner and critics largely poo-pooed the 2001 film, but that couldn't stop audiences from falling in love with the heartwarming flick — not to mention the natural chemistry between J.Lo and Matthew.
No. 3: "Anaconda"
In the 1997 adventure-horror film "Anaconda," Jennifer Lopez plays the director of a documentary film crew that journeys to the Amazon in search of Shirishama natives and ends up fighting a massive, hungry — you guessed it — anaconda! The film raked in about $65 million domestically, and although it garnered a bevy of negative reviews, it's also accrued quite the cult following over the years.
No. 2: "Out of Sight"
A romantic comedy filled with suspense and action, 1998's "Out of Sight" is one of Jennifer Lopez' best films! The chemistry between J.Lo and George Clooney is delicious — they sizzle on-screen together in the tale of a successful bank robber who ends up stealing the heart of a deputy federal marshal. David Edelstein of Slate noted in his review that "'Out of Sight' is slick in all the right ways."
No. 1: "Selena"
No surprise here! "Selena" is Jennifer Lopez' magnum opus of films. She beautifully embodies the late Latin songstress Selena Quintanilla-Perez in the 1997 movie that chronicles the Tejano singer's rapid ascent to fame and heartbreaking demise. The success of J.Lo's performance in this biopic helped launch her career and largely paved a path for her future successes.
